"Political Correctnessis a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

"Democrat choices for president: One candidate whose 20-year spiritual guru has an adversarial relationship with America, and another who has a life-long adversarial relationship with the truth." - Michelle Malkin

Friday, January 12, 2007

A sweet deal for 'official' felons

How does this grab you?

James A. Traficant Jr., the former Democrat congressman convicted of racketeering and taking bribes, is wiling away prison time painting colorful pictures but also able to collect a congressional pension of nearly $40,000 a year.Free Traficant, Bella Pelosi needs him on the ethics committee.

He's not the only felon being paid a pension by the tax payers.

Other recent convicts include former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a California Republican convicted of graft and imprisoned last year, and former Rep. Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican convicted last year of corruption charges tied to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Cunningham is eligible for about $36,000 a year, while Ney is in line for a $29,000 annual pension, according to estimates from the National Taxpayers Union (NTU). Other estimates, from groups such as the Congressional Research Service, vary slightly.

Former Rep. Daniel Rostenkowski, an Illinois Democrat convicted in 1996 of mail fraud related to the House post office scandal and pardoned by President Clinton in 2001, this year will collect an estimated $125,000 congressional pension, according to NTU estimates. Washington Times

"They have lost their cases, lost all their appeals and still collect the check," said Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, an Illinois Republican who introduced a bill that would stop future congressional felons from pocketing retirement pay. A similar measure is being offered by Democratic Sens. Ken Salazar of Colorado and John Kerry of Massachusetts in an amendment to that chamber's ethics reform bill, which is expected to go to a vote today."